Hole in Liner in Wrinkled Area

by Don Pasco
(Baltimore, Maryland)

I have a 21 foot round above ground pool that is 4 years old.

Before installing the liner I invested in a Liner Pad for extra protection for the floor.

This pool also has a main drain/floor skimmer in the center of the floor, with a valve outside the pool to control the degree of suction from the skimmer(s).

Recently I discovered that there was a leak because the water level was going down daily.

I searched and found a hole in the liner located a few inches from the main drain/floor skimmer, however, this area which is approximately 6 to 8 inches around the dome cover, has many, many small wrinkles which I suspect is due to the liner pad and the water pressure around the dome cover.

I would like to think that just patching the spot where I found the hole would work, however, I am concerned that the patch may not work as intended because more than likely, it will not lay flat, because of the many wrinkles all around the hole/area.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Don Using Boxer glue and a piece of actual vinyl as a patch I think it would work. Certainly worth a try.

Pool Loosing Water

by Karen Rucinski
(Florida)

This is the second year in a row that in Aug. The pool loses 3 to 4 feet of water in 3 to 4 days. It can't be evaporation. Too much too fast. Then it stays half full. I thought the first year it was a hole in liner at bottom. But when we emptied it the ground was good. Also to lose that much water you should see it. Wrong. No puddles. No noise to hear it dripping. It's a mystery. Please help me. Right now my pool is empty I have to change out the liner. But before I remove the liner do you have any thoughts.

Hi Karen

Yes, I do have some thoughts. Find out what is causing the problem. The way you describe the leaks it should be around the outer edge. But the no wet spots does not add up, unless the pool is sunk into the ground in that area.

You need to get under that liner before you remove it. Cut a small opening near the top of the liner and crawl in. Have someone on the outside of the pool pull the liner up leaving you in the dark. From underneath the liner you can see it all. Holes in the liner will shine through like stars. You are looking for a pattern.

Are the holes around the outer edge caused by a hand vacuum. Are they more towards the middle in an area where a pool cleaner could be spending too much time.

There are a few different common causes for holes in a vinyl liner and they are all visible by getting underneath the liner.

Above Ground Pool is Leaking Slowly

by Basia
(New Jersey)

I have 28' above ground pool. There is small leak, which I can't locate. I have to refill a pool once a week during summer in order to have filter working. I don't know what kind of pool it is and what kind of liner I need. I would like to replace the one I have with a new one. Before making any decision I would like to know a cost of the liner and installation.

Thank you

Hi Basia.

Wonderful photos, thanks, but unfortunately I am unable to tell the make and model of the pool. But that's not a big thing, liners are pretty standard.

One thing I would check before replacing the liner is just how much water is leaking and how much is evaporating. Filling a pool once a week is not uncommon, it may not be leaking at all.

Take a five gallon bucket and fill it with water. With a sharpy mark the water level and set the bucket near the pool. Mark the water level in the pool the same way. After a week measure both the pool and the bucket, from the mark to the water level. Evaporation would have taken the same amount from the bucket as the pool.

If you decide to change the liner you first need to decide if it's an overhang liner or a beaded liner. From the outside of the pool look under the top rail. If you see liner hanging over the edge of the pool it is an overlap liner, if not it would be a beaded liner.

The next thing I would do is measure from side to side in several places. 28' is the most common size for an above ground pool but there are some 27' models out there.

You can find liners online very easily. I would go with the 25 gauge as opposed to the 20 gauge. In The Swim sells a 25 gauge 28' round overlap liner for $386.00

Installation prices can vary depending on the competition in your area. You can probably expect to pay $300.00 or more in labor.

Losing Water In Our Pool

by Brandy
(New york)

When we closed our pool last year, we did the same thing as prior years before, we always drain it to the bottom of the skimmer and eyeball, but we somehow over the winter managed to lose about a foot of water. And we have no idea what happened to it.

Bottom line the liner needed replaced anyway, so last week we had a pool company come and replace it, took two days to fill, (the very top of the skimmer} after it was full I put a little chlorine in and ran the filter that night, in the morning when I went out to shut it off it was at the middle of the skimmer. For the past 3 days we've managed to lose about 2-3" everyday? It's currently about 2-3" below eyeball.

My question is do you know what the problem is here? What could be the cause of this leak? My husband is thinking is a problem with the new liner. But we had a water loss with the old liner as well. We have a 24' round above ground Doughboy pool.

Hi Brandy

My fist guess is it is a liner leak. If the water gets below the skimmer and continues to leak you can count out any type of filter leaks. It is normal for the leak to slow down the farther down the wall it gets. The less pressure on the leaking part of the liner the slower it will leak. Many leaks all but stop when the pool is about half full, but start again when the pool is full. The holes, however, are in the bottom of the pool.

An older liner will usually leak due to pin holes in the bottom. With a new liner it is most commonly a bad seam. A new liner should not leak when it is first filled. Either the liner is defective or the installers put a hole in it, but either way, it is probably the liner.

Pool Loosing Water

by Linda
(Newport,Delaware. USA)

Can water be leeched from a vinyl pool liner without a hole?

There are no holes in the liner, nor has there been any wet areas around the pool. The water level got down to about 1'. We have been filling it gradually and it is maintaining the water.

Any ideas? Thanks!

Hi Linda

There are just a few ways a pool can loose water. The liner could have a hole, or holes. Hundreds of pinholes on the bottom are common, and impossible to see from inside the pool. The only way to find them is to get under the liner. Under the liner, in the dark, you are looking up at the Milky Way. Another thing to keep in mind as you fill the pool, the more water pressure put on the hole the more the pool will leak. So a pool with only a foot of water in it may hardly leak at all. At 2' it is just barely starting to leak. At 4' you now have plenty of pressure on the holes and the leak will be noticeable.

Other causes of water loss are evaporation or kids splashing water out of the pool. I know of one case where a customer left a garden hose in the pool after she filled it, every time, and every time the water would slowly siphon out through a coupler where two hoses were hooked together. Once we found that she felt kind of silly.

Check for evaporation by filling a five gallon bucket with water and making a mark at the top of the water, do the same inside the pool. After a week the water loss should be the same in the pool and the bucket.